On 2004-09-02 19:53:54 -0400, blair thompson said:

But I am still wondering what the consensus here might be to
just how pleasurable life really is for an indoor cat, Or am I just
anthropomorphizing human traits onto a cat, and they really don't need
as much stimuli in a day as we do, especially when they sleep 15-plus
hours out of every 24? What about the second-cat-to-keep-the
-first-one-company option?

Growing up, we always let our cats out. After I had a cat disappear, a
second cat suffered an unknown injury (or poisoning) that caused
seizures, blindness and partial paralysis, and found out that my half
grown cat had killed a rat that was as big as he was, I decided I
couldn't take it any more.

My present cat has never been outside except in a carrier. We live in a
large, three story Victorian with a basement which has lots of great
hiding and climbing places (due to the fact that we accumulate stuff).
My housemate also has a cat so they have each other when there's no one
at home (which is rare). I think my cat seems pretty happy. I don't
think that she would even like the outside very much as she hates
uneven surfaces, won't even walk over a pile of laundry on the floor,
she'll walk around it instead.

They have toys, multiple scratching surfaces, multiple litter boxes.
The other cat is a bit neurotic but it mostly revolves around his
extreme attachment to his person. He was neglected as a kitten and was
rescued. I don't think his occasional weirdness has anything to do with
his being an indoor cat.

The other cat used to be an indoor/outdoor cat and occasionally tries
to get out, succeeds once in a great while, then panics and hides under
the nearest porch. As we live on a busy street, in a neighborhood were
lots of people do let their cats run lose and there has been a small
colony of ferals nearby, I wouldn't ever consider letting my cat out
here. If I were you, I probably wouldn't be able to bear the thought
of losing another cat to a coyote. But you have to make your own
choices.

Good luck,
Meg